


In This Moment

by KeeperofSeeds



Series: femslashficlets - shakespeare prompt challenge [16]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Feels, Clone Wars, Community: femslashficlets, F/F, Fear of Discovery, Feelings Realization, Gen, Head Injury, Jedi, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), POV Female Character, Pre-Femslash, Stolen Moments, Timeline What Timeline, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-04 18:11:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12174060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeeperofSeeds/pseuds/KeeperofSeeds
Summary: Master Unduli is injured in battle, and new Jedi Knight Aayla is forced to confront her feelings for the woman.





	In This Moment

**Author's Note:**

> 16\. Nothing can be made out of nothing - King Lear

Aayla sits in the hold of transport ship, vibrating with nervous energy in a way she hadn't since her Padawan days. It takes a great deal of focus to stop her leg from jittering, though she can't quite stop her eyes from darting over to the door. 

She tries to close her eyes and focus. She feels the steady hum of the ship through the steel wall her head rests against, smells the dust and sweat coating everyone. She hears the clack of clone armor as the men shift in their seats, feels their nervous energy. 

This isn't helping. She opens her eyes again, and glances towards the door. She jumps when a hand touches her arm. 

"Master Unduli is in good hands, Aayla."

"I know that, Master," she replies out of habit. Quinlan just smiles softly. She'd been knighted only a few months earlier and old habits would take time to break. 

"You seemed to work well with Luminara in the field," Quinlan continues, trying to keep her mind occupied, but Aayla's heart only beats faster. Does he know happened? Had someone seen her?  
That moment after they'd ran together towards a Separatist tank, lightsabers flashing in the planet's dusty plains, to stop it advancing on the local population. 

Luminara had smiled at her, fierce under layers of dirt. But as she'd begun to thank her, the tank had exploded from within, blowing Luminara off her feet completely. 

Her eyes were looking, blinking as if in a daze when Aayla picked herself up and skidded to her knees beside her, staring horrified at the dark blood beginning to drip slide down in a jagged line from the edge of her hood. Aayla had panicked and pressed her lips to the Master's forehead, begging her to stay alive, to stay concious, before her training kicked in and she began to remove her hood and check her over. To stabilize her and stop the bleeding until the clone medic could arrive. Head wounds were bad, and they'd been far enough away from the rest of the troopers that she'd had time to start ripping parts of their robes to made makeshift bandages.

She can still see patches of blood on her hands where it had seeped through the makeshift bandages she'd been keeping pressure on. Quinlan reaches out again and grabs one of her hands between his own. They'd been shaking, she realizes. 

Before he can offer more assurances, Bariss Offee, Luminara's Padawan, steps into the hold and announces, "Master Luminara is awake and stable."

Aayla feels her heart sing at the news. "May I see her?" she asks, and Barriss nods. "Only for a short while. It may be difficult for her to stay awake for long."

Quinlan squeezes her hand and lets her go.

Hawkbats begin to circle in her stomach as she makes her way down dimly lit halls to the medical bay. This is ridiculous, she thinks. Luminara won't ridicule her for her actions on the battle field, she may not even remember the kiss! In all likelihood she will probably treat it as the effects of adrenaline mixed with a typical Padawan crush. 

Aayla pauses to run her hand over her face. She isn't sure which would be worse. For Luminara to brush her actions off or for her to remain oblivious as to Aayla's feelings for her. 

 

Luminara's eyes are closed when she tip toes into the medbay. Maybe this is for the best Aayla thinks, but feels like a coward as she slowly moves next to the raised bed and brushes her fingers over the still hand resting on the thin sheet. She's a Knight now, she reminds herself. It's ridiculous to be acting like this. 

She breathes deep and tries again to release her worries to the Force. 

Instead, she feels a hand slowly curl around hers. 

She blinks owlishly at Luminara, her face still too pale under the new layer of bandages and ducks her head again, feeling her leku curl up in embarrassment or shame. 

"I'm sorry Master," she says, unsure if she's apologizing for waking her or for the kiss, or even for not somehow sensing the explosion. 

"Aayla…" Luminara rasps out, quiet yet steady, "you have nothing to be sorry for."

Then Luminara brings their clasped hands slowly up and brushes dry lips over the back of Aayla's hand. 

The Living Force seems to glow at the juncture of Luminara and her hand and she knows she is probably broadcasting her relief across the ship. It silly but the first thing Aayla thinks of is how difficult it is going to be to hide these feelings from Quinlan. Not that he's likely to reprimand her. He's always been unique among the other Masters of his era, more willing to bend the rules and test the limits that some. But that means he's less likely to let her retreat into denial.

"Stop thinking so hard," Luminara says, drawing her focus back to the here and now. "Live in the moment."

It's such a typical phrase from a Master that she can't help but chuckle. Some lessons take a lifetime to learn it seems. There are still hours to go before they reach the Temple, and Aayla vows to stay here next to Luminara, soaking in this feeling between them for as long as she can, before duty will force them apart.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea as the the timeline during the Clone Wars as to when Aayla OR Barriss was canonically made a Knight, soooo let's just say this is still pretty early on.


End file.
